Spanish patent application P200901410 describes the cleaning of mirrors of parabolic trough solar collectors
The aforementioned application P200901410 relates, according to a first aspect, to a cleaning vehicle for parabolic trough solar collectors, consisting of a motorised vehicle which comprises a water tank included in the vehicle chassis; front and rear cleaning arms, each of which comprises a telescopic part having several sections whereto a head that supports at least one cleaning brush which can rotate around its axis and comprises water spray nozzles is coupled to its free end in a pivoting manner, said vehicle also comprising proximity sensors for the brushes and a pump for feeding water from the tank to the spray nozzles. Additionally, the aforementioned vehicle advantageously includes, on each of the front and rear parts, a transverse guide rail which includes linear movement means whereto the corresponding cleaning arm is coupled, by means of a pivot.
The aforementioned application P200901410 relates, according to a second aspect, to a cleaning method for parabolic trough solar collectors which comprises the following stages:
forward movement of the vehicle until its front part is in front of the collector to be cleaned;
positioning of the arms in their cleaning position;
contact of the rotary brushes with the collector;
forward movement of the vehicle and actuation of the brushes and water sprays; and
end of the cleaning method and retraction of the brushes.
The drawback to be resolved consists of improving the accessibility of the brushes to the largest possible area of collector surface, avoiding the structural obstacles that prevent complete cleaning of certain areas with more difficult access.